A soldier fights to gain recognition for comrades who died during the Chinese Civil War.A soldier fights to gain recognition for comrades who died during the Chinese Civil War.A soldier fights to gain recognition for comrades who died during the Chinese Civil War.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
7K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Heng Liu
- Jingyuan Yang(original novel)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Heng Liu
- Jingyuan Yang(original novel)
- Stars
- Awards
- 29 wins & 16 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- Heng Liu
- Jingyuan Yang(original novel)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
War feasts upon death. Its greedy appetite carries away many a life on the battlefield, and soldiers must be ready to die at any time. Yet all these sacrifices can be given meaning and reason with honor. A weathered witness of war's insatiable appetite, Guzidi, Captain of the Ninth Company, will struggle his entire life to return honor to his forty six men and their self-sacrifice. The year 1948 witnessed the launching of the Huaihai Campaign during the Chinese Civil War. In one of Chinese history's deadliest battles, thousands from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Nationalist Army (KMT) fell in the battle that took place between Xuzhou and Bengdu. It was amid this bloody fight that Captain Guzidi led the Ninth Company infantry unit on a sniper mission. His orders were to fight the KMT Army until the retreat assembly call was sounded. Yet, after many long hours of painstaking resistance, Gu watched powerless as the ammunition ran out and the scant ranks of the Ninth Company grew sparser still. The men were falling one by one. On the brink of death, Lieutenant Jiao Dapeng, Gu's best partner, announced that he heard the call and asked Gu to retreat with the remaining soldiers. The dying man's words spread doubt within the remainder of the company, but Gu insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue fighting at all costs. Not until later did Gu realize that all the neighboring troops had already left the field, and that his entire company had maybe died in vain because of his stubborn obedience. Blinded by anger and guilt, Gu marched straight into the enemy's trench. But his life was spared, and he had no choice but to shoulder the gargantuan weight of guilt and mystery that would burden the remainder of his life. A few days later, Gu woke up in a hospital. While among the KMT ranks, he had been wounded and captured by the PLA. He had lost his identity, and quickly learnt that without a survivor to vouch for them, the forty six men who had bravely sacrificed their lives under him had simply gone missing. Gu joined the infantry of the Liberation Army and painstakingly climbed up the lower rungs of the military ladder. Determined to prove the glorious death of his forty-six men, Gu embarks on a journey in search of those who hold the key to the mystery of the bugle call. —FB
- Taglines
- Every sacrifice deserves to be immortalized.
- Genres
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaUsed the same action and effects team as the Korean war film Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004).
- GoofsWhen Gu Zidi stands on the watchtower, his position changes between the highest and the second highest level of the watchtower. This is clearly visible since the highest level has no diagonal beams.
Top review
an excellent film bound up with the Chinese chivalry traditions
This is an excellent military blockbuster which might remind people of less its American counterpart Save Private Ryan than the traditions of the Chinese chivalry which lays a stress emphasis on "Name" or "Title".
Gu Zi Di(Millet Field), who is orphaned in a famine and named after the millet field where he was picked up,tried conscientiously every means to reclaim the credit of being martyrs( the holy death) for his 47 neglected dead comrades. Considering his growing background, one might find it easy to understand his obsession with the "Name", the importance of doing justice to the name and reputation of the dead rather than leaving the holy dead in obscurity. To put the figure in a historical perspective, he is actually an ideal reincarnation of the traditional Chinese knight who pursues the justice in disregard of the cumbersome secular hypocrisy and bureaucracy.
I think the film is aimed to re-appropriate the Chinese chivalry tradition in a modern military background to inject masculine heroism into the mercantile contemporary Chinese society where a vast number of people are lost in mercenariness,not ashamed of losing their name in idolization of money-ism.
Gu Zi Di(Millet Field), who is orphaned in a famine and named after the millet field where he was picked up,tried conscientiously every means to reclaim the credit of being martyrs( the holy death) for his 47 neglected dead comrades. Considering his growing background, one might find it easy to understand his obsession with the "Name", the importance of doing justice to the name and reputation of the dead rather than leaving the holy dead in obscurity. To put the figure in a historical perspective, he is actually an ideal reincarnation of the traditional Chinese knight who pursues the justice in disregard of the cumbersome secular hypocrisy and bureaucracy.
I think the film is aimed to re-appropriate the Chinese chivalry tradition in a modern military background to inject masculine heroism into the mercantile contemporary Chinese society where a vast number of people are lost in mercenariness,not ashamed of losing their name in idolization of money-ism.
helpful•4513
- zzhou5
- Dec 27, 2007
Details
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $16,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $34,786,960
- Runtime2 hours 4 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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